White Paper

Simplify Commissioning to
Shorten Project Timelines
Smart Commissioning reduces the
automation impact on a projects critical path
White Paper

Simplify Commissioning to Shorten Project Timelines

Up to 30 percent of anticipated value disappears during

the turnover/commissioning and ramp-up phases of new
asset lifecycles.
Effective Operational Readiness of Large Mining Capital Projects Deloitte, 2012.

Across process industries, the success of major capital projects is jeopardized by

traditional automation system commissioning practices and their associated problems:
missed deadlines, errors, and stretched-thin personnel. Done right, commissioning
can help teams meet schedule constraints and come in on budget. Choosing the right
automation strategy can set you up for success.
Although automation expenditures are typically only three to four percent of the overall
project, the automation system has a much larger impact on an overall project in areas
such as process performance, adherence to schedule, and time to first product.
Because automation is always on the critical path for start-up, and delays can cost
millions of dollars per day, facilities constantly search for ways to be more efficient in
commissioning. At times, the automation system itself puts up the roadblocks through
difficult technologies and methods, which cause problems:
Missed deadlines Configuring intelligent field devices during commissioning
demands a great deal of time from engineers, suppliers, and field technicians.
Because everyone is stretched thin, both deadlines and opportunities are missed.
Manual errors With thousands of devices to configure, and dozens of parameters for
each device, the potential for critical errors always exists. Managing the information
required for device commissioning, finding available resources, and validating that
configurations are correct pose significant challenges.
Staffing demands Traditional loop checking takes a coordinated testing effort from
multiple people: technicians both in the field and in the control room. Step by step, the
team goes through electrical and software loop validation. For each technician, the
process holds a great deal of wasted, idle time.

Smart Commissioning
Smart Commissioning drastically reduces time and effort by providing an efficient
progression from device installations to process startup. Laying the groundwork early
in the process before the binding of field devices the method uses automation and
field device data to streamline tasks all the way through loop testing and beyond.

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White Paper

Positively impacting the overall certainty of project execution, Smart Commissioning

helps automation projects meet strict and shifting deadlines. Developments in the
DeltaV distributed control system (DCS) and AMS Device Manager asset management
software improve device binding and configuration, testing, and documentation.
The basis of the process relies heavily on automating manual tasks and letting the
technology do its work. Smart Commissioning improves traditional project execution
methods into these efficient steps.

Traditional Approach
Traditional Approach

Early Binding PT-101

PT-101

Physical I/O-Based Fixed Device

Wiring Checks
Manual Device Manual Testing & 140
Configuration Wiring Configuration Documentation minutes
per device

SmartCommissioning
Smart Commissioning
PT-101

Tag-Based
Configuration

PT-101

Connect
Automatic
Device
Auto Device Remote Testing & 25
Anywhere Configuration Documentation minutes
Identification per device
Late Binding

Compared to traditional commissioning, Smart Commissioning requires a fraction of the time per device.

Tag-Based Configuration Configuration without waiting

for I/O allocation
As soon as the initial I/O definition is available, the project team can start configuring
control strategies based on the device signal tags (DSTs). Each I/O function block
is linked to a DST that is not assigned to any particular I/O channel. In a traditional
configuration approach, I/O references within the control strategies are bound to
specific channels. This creates detrimental dependencies in the project schedule.
Smart Commissioning enables the team to delay binding I/O references until the
field devices are wired at site this delay is called late binding.

Connect Anywhere Flexible I/O assignment independent

of control design
The DeltaV Electronic Marshaling with CHARMs technology enables field cabling to
be landed wherever it is required, regardless of signal type or control strategy. Each
terminal block has a single channel CHARacterization Module (CHARM) that allows any
field wiring signal type to be terminated in any location. Field wires are terminated on
terminal strips, but the marshalling panel and the associated cross-wiring to I/O cards
is no longer required. Each I/O channel is linked to its appropriate controller through
the DeltaV system software. The ability for the DeltaV controllers to utilize I/O from
different CHARM I/O cards (CIOC) simplifies design considerations for allocating devices
to field enclosures.

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Simplify Commissioning to Shorten Project Timelines White Paper

Thanks to the broad range of I/O types, practically all field devices can be connected
to the DeltaV CHARM I/O subsystem without requiring external components. A large
variety of signal types, such as RTD, T/C, and 120VAC, can be used in the same field
enclosure. The installer only needs to select the proper CHARM based on the signal
type. All this field work can be done without any information about the logical I/O
assignment within the control strategies.

Automatic I/O and Device Identification Eliminate manual work

After the CHARMs have been installed in the system cabinet and each device wire has
been terminated to a CHARM, each CHARM is automatically identified (or auto-sensed)
by the DeltaV system. The user does not need to define the type for each I/O channel.
HART devices are automatically identified when they are installed. The DeltaV DCS
automatically retrieves device information such as manufacturer, model, and revision
and can invoke AMS Device Manager to automatically configure it. The device tag is also
retrieved from the field device.

Automatic Binding Error-proof entries

Smart Commissioning automatically binds field device references to control strategies
via the field device tag. For HART devices, the binding of I/O references is performed
automatically after the device has been discovered by the DeltaV system. If the device
tag matches a DST within the system, the proper I/O function block is bound to the
right field device automatically. Automatic binding enables late changes to be made
simply without impacting the project schedule.

Automatic Device Configuration Save time with bulk transfer

Smart Commissioning reduces time and errors associated with the traditional
commissioning process. Using device templates and bulk transfer in AMS Device
Manager, each configuration is defined once and used many times. Instead of applying
to devices individually, configurations are applied to all common devices simultaneously,
ensuring accuracy and consistency while saving hundreds of work-hours.
Automatic validation reports in AMS Device Manager make it easy to quickly verify
that devices are configured correctly. Discrepancies are clearly indicated and highlight
the exact parameters that do not match. Validation reports can also help manage
project changes, ensuring configuration updates have been applied correctly.

Remote Loop Testing Streamline testing with fewer resources

Once the device tag has been bound with the control strategies, the next step is to
perform loop checks. Using AMS Device Manager, a single technician at a control room
workstation can execute loop checks without another technician working in the field.
The system automatically documents all the steps, saving time in producing test reports.

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Simplify Commissioning to Shorten Project Timelines White Paper

Smart Commissioning: A Best Practice for Project Certainty

50,000
Smart Commissioning Savings
40,000 2.3 HRS/DEVICE
Automatic I/O and Device Identification Traditional Commissioning

Work-hours
30,000

Automatic Device Configuration

20,000

Remote Loop Testing 10,000

0.4 HRS/DEVICE
Smart Commissioning
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000
Minutes Number of Devices

Traditional Commissioning
Smart Commissioning

Project Certainty is a transformational approach to project execution that eliminates

costs, reduces complexity, and accommodates change in order to improve capital
efficiency. Smart Commissioning brings this transformational approach to the
automation system commissioning process. By shortening the time between device
installation and start up, Smart Commissioning makes project success more certain
and enables facilities to:

Eliminate Costs
Smart Commissioning eliminates costs by requiring fewer personnel to complete.
Using Smart Commissioning, some Emerson customers have compacted device
commissioning time by up to 82%, 140 minutes per device to 25 minutes per device.
This means 10,000 to 20,000 work-hours for mid-size to large projects.

Reduce Complexity
Multiple EPCs, numerous personnel, and coordination of hardware and software increase
a projects complexity and level of stress. Smart Commissioning reduces the impact of
these detractors by decoupling hardware and software design.
Traditionally the I/O configuration is always coupled to hardware and thus adjustments in
hardware always affect the I/O configuration in the DCS database. In addition, an activity
that demands the most effort during instrument commissioning is the configuration
and setup of individual field devices. Traditionally, this is done one device at a time at the
field. Smart Commissioning allows to create device configuration templates far ahead of
the installation of field devices, and use as configuration standards beyond the project
timeline and across different sites.
Functionality such as tag-based configuration, auto-sensing of devices, bulk device
configuration, and auto-binding have reduced complexity in greenfield and brownfield
projects around the world. For example, one international oil company (IOC) has used
AMS Device Manager bulk transfer functionality to reduce commissioning time to save
hundreds of work-hours.

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Simplify Commissioning to Shorten Project Timelines White Paper

Accommodate Change
Delays in start-up arise in part from late-stage changes. Attention to this area is critical
because over 65% of projects greater than a billion dollars and 35% of projects under
$500M come in more than 25% over budget or 50% late.
While Smart Commissioning does not address all the problems leading to delays and
project over runs, it addresses key automation-related elements in the projects critical
path. Since Smart Commissioning allows the binding of hardware and software to be
pushed later in the process, the project team can be more flexible in its response to late
design changes. And when changes are made, they are accomplished with fewer errors
and less rework.

Contact Emerson to Avoid Commissioning Overwork

Ask an Emerson expert to determine how much time and effort your team can NOT
spend on commissioning. And discover just how flexible your team can be as they easily
adapt to late design changes. We look forward to implementing Smart Commissioning
in your organization and ensuring more certain project success.

2016, Emerson Process Management. All rights reserved.

Emerson Process Management
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